BAM Digital Exhibit Returns With 'Virtual Reality Storytelling'

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — An interactive digital arts showcase at the Brooklyn Academy of Music will return this weekend with new additions that will let families step into the latest innovations in technology — literally.

BAM's annual "Teknopolis" showcase will open this weekend with many of its usual interactive exhibits, but also a new set of virtual reality installations for those 9 years and older to try out.

The new experiences, called "TeknopolisTM + VR," include immersive 360° films on the roof and the opportunity to inhabit full-body avatars for a choreographed dance exhibit or to dance, play or build a pillow fort of stars in an "experimental haiku" exhibit.

“We are thrilled to work with some of the most influential artists, in the world, to present groundbreaking interactive and immersive experiences at BAM," said Steven McIntosh, director of Education & Family Programs at BAM and curator of Teknopolis. “Whether it’s creating unique synth-rhythms, lending your moves to community-generated choreography, or playing sci-fi VR instruments, there’s something at Teknopolis that can turn your curiosity into creativity.”

The new two-hour timed-entry sessions will take place on the upper levels of the BAM Fisher building, located at 321 Ashland Place. Participants who sign up for the virtual reality options will also have access to the lower-level installations, such as a program that uses tracking and animated graphics to create a "living mask" based on the user's facial movements or an audiovisual concert created by shadow play.

This year’s exhibits feature work by leading artists and technologists, including Zach Lieberman, Molmol Kuo, Gilles Jobin, Cabbibo, and Daily tous les jours.

The virtual reality contemporary dance exhibit, called The Hillman Studio, lets users inhabit full-body avatars that interact and communicate physically with each other in various performance landscapes.

The 360° movies on the enclosed rooftop will let users be immersed in the animated short "Crow: The Legend," which features Oprah Winfrey, John Legend and Constance Wu and Sonaria. The rooftop will also house the ARcade where participants can play with augmented reality apps including FLARMINGOS, where users create and populate a virtual habitat with life-size dancing flamingos.

The event — named for the Greek words Tekne (craft or art) and Polis (ideal city) — is set to kick off this weekend. It will be open Saturday and Sunday and then return Thursday, Feb. 28; Sunday, March 3; Thursday, March 7; and Sunday, March 10.

Tickets for the regular exhibit are $16 for children ages 6 through 14 and $21 for adults. The TeknopolisTM + VR $35 for youth ages 9 through 14 and $45 for adults.

Each person must have a ticket to be admitted, regardless of age. Children under age 12 must be accompanied by an adult. For more information call 718.636.4100 or visit BAM.org/kids.